Prevent Accidents with Safety (PAWS)

Prevent Accidents with Safety (PAWS)

PAWS Undergraduate Lab Safety Program

A comprehensive safety program requires training, constant vigilance, and incident reporting and documentation systems—all with an eye toward critical review and continuous improvement. The Prevent Accidents with Safety (PAWS) program provides a framework to develop the necessary safety culture within the student community.

The key to the PAWS program is that the students in the Unit Operations Laboratory bear the responsibility for personal health and safety and for the safety of those around them. Specific safety-related responsibilities are assigned to the students in addition to their course responsibilities. The student-owned portion of the PAWS program is built around a safety committee and a communications and documentation system.

Reporting Process

If you observe a safety risk or incident in the lab, we encourage you to make your suggestions heard by submitting a PAWS Incident Report Form. Just follow these steps to make the lab a safer place for everyone:

  1. Observe the hazard.
  2. Take corrective action.
  3. Document the action by filling out a PAWS Incident Report Form.
  4. Place the completed form in a drop box. Drop boxes are located in the Unit Operations Laboratory office (Chem Sci B005A) and in the PSCC Control Room (Chem Sci 107). Reports are reviewed at the PAWS safety meetings.

Managing Safety

The PAWS safety administration is responsible for leading safety efforts in student lab activities. A safety committee is formed for each assigned lab experiment and meets toward the end of an experiment cycle.